Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director Emeritus Frederic Franklin, was 93 years old when he performed the role of Friar Laurence in Victoria Morgan's "Romeo and Juliet" in 2008.

Written by

David Lyman
Enquirer contributor

Frederic Franklin, the 98-year-old ballet legend and artistic director emeritus of the Cincinnati Ballet, died Saturday in New York City.

Born in Liverpool, England on June 13, 1914 - six weeks before the beginning of World War I - Franklin's career read like a compendium of 20th century ballet history. He made his professional dance debut as a teen-ager with forged documents performing in Paris for American expatriate singer/dancer Josephine Baker.

Later, he would tour the world with several celebrated ballet companies including the Markova-Dolin Ballet and the Slavenska-Franklin ...